The Beaten Path
by Love Struck Teenagers
Summary: Kendall Knight aka Mr. Popularity was on top of the world. Jo Taylor was going through a tough time. What happens when their worlds collide? Eventual Jo x Kendall
1. Victory?

**Hey guys! I'm back and better! I have decided to write a multi-chapter story for my favorite couple...JENDALL! It has some violence and adulter themes but isn't M. I really hope you like, cuz it's something new. BTW Lucy is REALLY out of character, but I didn't know who else to use. Plus Big Time Rush doesn't exist and they are living in Minnesota. I'm not sure if the guys are going to make an appearance...Hmmm. So here's my story to y'all.**

**This is dedicated to all the people who reviwed, favorited,or followed me over my entire 'career' here on fanfiction. You know who you are :) That doesn't mean I don't like those who don't, but it should be used as a... model? IDK.**

**/a/**

"KEN-DALL! KEN-DALL! KEN-DALL!" The crowd chanted my name like I was some god-like person. Oh wait, I was! I'd just scored the winning goal to advance our team to the Finals. I was on top of the world! The crowd shook the arena as my teammates carried me off the ice atop their shoulders. I glanced up at the throng of people cheering in the stands and my gaze landed on Lucy; smoking hot, hazel eyes, cute smile, and head cheerleader. Oh, and my girlfriend. Score! Not only that, but she's a junior. Even though I'm a sophomore, she deemed me worthy of holding the title of 'Lucy Stone's Boyfriend'. Not to mention I rule the school. I'm captain of the hockey team, homecoming king, class president, and quarterback of the football team. Plus all the girls swoon over me. Lucy doesn't seem to care though, which is okay with me.

Ah, the perks of popularity.

I pumped my fists high into the air and whooped along with the whole stadium. Confetti was everywhere and "We Are The Champions" blared from the speakers. Strobe lights scanned the stands, illuminating people's faces for an instant and then passing to another. I traced the blue spotlight until it hit a familiar girl. I couldn't put my finger on it, but there was something about her struck me as unusual. Not unusual in a bad way. . . okay maybe in a bad way. She dressed in black from head to toe, from a black sweatshirt, to black skinny jeans and a black beanie to cover the blonde mop of hair on her head. I think I had a similar one among my beanie collection. All she needed was a ski mask and BOOM! she'd look like a robber. Plus, her expression radiated hate and. . . pain? I don't know what else but I do know she did _not_ want to be there.

Our eyes locked for a moment, which was just enough time for her to scowl at me and weave her way through the crowd, out of my sight.

I tried to blow it off. Whatever, no biggie. Why should I care if a freakish loser hates me? She can just go to hell for all I care. It's not like her vote against me could possibly change where I am now.

And yet it wasn't that simple.

Yes I could care less about her, but her eyes mesmerized me, and I couldn't get her face out of my mind. I tightly closed my eyes and shook my head, but it was useless.

They carried me through the corridors leading to the locker room, where they finally set me down. I felt claps on my back and a few nuggies in appreciation. I chuckled as they pulled me every which way to congratulate me.

My coach strode in with a proud smile. By this time, we changed out of our wet jersey's and pads sat on the benches on the perimeter of the room. He slammed his clipboard down, folded his arms across his chest, and scanned the room.

"Well, I don't know about you," he started calmly, "...but we KICKED ASS OUT THERE!" The locker room erupted in cheers and whoops. "And what would this team be without our captain. . . KENDALL KNIGHT!" People banged on lockers and stomped their feet until Coach held up his hand for silence. "Next week we play the Tigers and after that the winner of the Blue Devils and Coyotes. I expect you all to keep up this level of play for each of the upcoming games, and if not, the bench will be your new BFF." Guys around me chuckled, including Coach. "We have a chance to make history here, Gophers! Alright, hands in!"

We surrounded Coach and put our hands onto his maroon hat and performed our version of the Mighty Ducks' quack. "GOGOGOGOGOGOGOGOGOGO GOOOPPPPPPHHHHERS!"

Once we settled down, he cleared his throat and said, "Now go home and get some rest for an intense week!" And with a couple of final groans, we grabbed our bags and exited the locker room.

When we all arrived out of the tunnel (that's what we call the hallway from the locker room to the entry way), parents, classmates, and friends were waiting. They congratulated us on the victory and ushered us out to the parking lot. I yawned, man the only downer of playing hockey is the late games. They didn't start until around 10, which limited my sleep.

"Hey baby." I turned on my heels to meet a smiling Lucy. Her black hair was in pig tails and she had on an extremely small crop top and short short _short_ shorts. "You did really well today. You looked like super hawt on the ice." She wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed my lips forcefully. I seriously need to have a talk with her about PDA.

Someone tapped my shoulder, so I detached myself from Lucy and peered over my shoulder to see my sister Katie and mom. I saw Lucy pout and cross her arms over her chest in aggravation. I greeted my family and they told me how proud they were blah blah blah and that they'd meet me at home.

Once they were out the door, Lucy attached herself to my chest again. She's a very clingy person if you haven't figured it out already. She put her hand in my back pocket and kissed me. Again.

"Lucy! Hey um don't we have to be gettn' to the party already?" I asked withdrawing myself from her.

She smiled, "Yeah, then maybe we can have some. . . alone time." She seductively pat my chest and walked out the door.

I shook my head, still dazed and confused about her sudden change in mood. But, hey she's smoking and has the hots for me, so whatever.

As I trotted to the door, I saw a girl and guy arguing in the corner. They had to be high schoolers because they both looked eerily familiar, but again, I'm not good about matching faces with names. She wore all black and stood a head shorter than her companion. He towered over the girl and kept shoving her shoulders so that they'd thump against the wall consistently. By now, his insults almost carried over the noise of the crowd, but no one was paying them any attention. Then, he slapped her face.

Hard.

She covered her cheek with her hand, but didn't cry like I expected her to. His facial expression then melted into that of guilt and he repeatedly apologized. When he hugged her, she flinched and they walked towards me. I didn't want them to think I had been eavesdropping on their conversation, or lack thereof, so I quickly exited the hockey rink. But not without taking a quick glance back at the 'couple'. As his face came into the light, I recognized him, but was utterly and completely shocked.

That was none other than Jett Stetson, our goalie.

**/a/**

**Woah! DUN DUN DUNNNNNNN! I'll try to have the next chapter up soon. Please tell me if I should continue or start on something new.**

**Love y'all!**

**LST**


	2. What's my name?

**Hiyo! Well, I decided to try to write 2 chapters a week, which I was skeptical at first, but I think I may be able to do it. Although, next week I'll be down at the beach, so you'll have to exuse me. Anyway, this story is progressing quite nice and I'm not used to quick updates. But anything for my loyal fangirls/guys. I hope you enjoy the next chapter! BTW, sorry for all the cursing and OOC characters.**

**/b/**

We pulled into the development and immediately, I knew the party house. It was hard to miss; cars lined the curbs around the premises, music reverberated against the walls causing the ground to shake along with the steady beat, trash was everywhere, and people littered the front lawn talking, laughing, and getting wasted. It was almost 2 below, but nobody seemed fazed by the temperature and continued to party the night away. I stopped the car out front and Lucy quickly jumped out, squealing that she saw her "BFF", and ushered me to park the car.

I sighed and put it in park. I drove about a block before I could find a decent parking spot. I cut the ignition and slammed my head onto the steering wheel. What the hell did I get myself into?

The music was audible from a block away and as I made my way to the scene, I could see people arriving in truck-loads, all wearing skimpy outfits like Lucy. I groaned at the idea of finding her through the crowd. I sucked it up and braced myself as I entered the front door.

I looked everywhere for her, but soon gave up and stood in the corner with my red solo cup of. . . whatever this was. One thing was certain, actually more than one; I was never going to find Lucy, this liquid made my head feel funny, and I kept thinking about the mysterious girl in black.

Ah yes, that mysterious girl in black. She clearly had no intention of reaching out to me or even taking an interest in me, but yet here I was at this raging party surrounded by millions of smoking hot girls, and all I could think about is a girl I've never associated with. I didn't even know her name for God's sakes. I do know I could pick her out of this crowd just by studying her eyes.

I scanned the crowd, but all I could unearth was a bunch of drunk teens grinding with each other and drinking this intoxicating shit. I sighed and banged my had on the wall. Well I came here to have fun and damnit, I'm going to party!

I placed my empty cup in the trash can, (hey what can I say, my mom did something right) and walked onto the crowded dance floor. I'll be honest, I'm not much of a dancer, but I know how to move to the beat. I found a blonde swaying off to the side, and I decided to make her night and strolled over to her. She didn't notice my presence, so I lightly tapped her shoulder. Apparently that scared her out of her skin, and she jumped. However, it looked more like flinching, like my touch could cause spontaneous combustion. She faced me and I immediately recognized her.

She was the blond haired, brown-eyed girl stuck in my mind.

Although, she didn't appear to be as happy to see me as I was. She crossed her arms and scowled at me. I looked her up and down. She ditched her beanie and traded her black hoodie for a navy blue one, but still wore black skinny jeans. I gotta say, I'm really digging those jeans on her. Right now, she wore more clothes than most of the girls here combined, so I got the feeling she had some self worth.

I tried a friendly smile, but she kept on staring holes into me. Why does she hate me so much? Seriously, what did I do to her for her to want to gut me?

"What?" She spat.

"I wanted to know if you'd dance with me." I asked boldly. She didn't intimidate me one bit.

She took one long look at me and decided on ,"Why?"

"Because you look like a loner in this corner by yourself," I stated matter-of-factly, causing her to role her eyes. ", and I can't let a pretty girl like you dance all by your lonesome." I layed on my Kendall Knight charm. No one can resist it.

"Do you even know my name?"

After a few seconds of quick-wit thinking, I responded with the first name that popped in my head, "Jane?" She shook her head. "Janice?" Nope. "Julia?" Wrong. "Jasmine?" Incorrect. "Jaclyn?" Stupid. "Jamie?" Idiot!

"Jo. My name is Jo." she said between her teeth. Anger radiated off her, like heat off this party.

"Right, Jo." Then it hit me. "OHHHHHHH. Now I remember. You were the line leader in second grade that always let me cut in front of you!"

She scoffed. "Yes you dummy. I've also known you since kindergarten. We've been in the same class since kindergarten and all you can remember is SECOND GRADE?" She clenched her fists, but relaxed them because they were in pain. I saw a few bruises on her wrist. She hid them in her sleeves and turned back to me.

I chuckled, "Yeah, how could I forget? You were the one who spilled bright blue paint on Ms. Collins!" I burst out laughing. "Her glasses were blue for the rest of the week!"

The strangest thing happened next. She smiled. I saw it with my own eyes. A tiny curve of her lips. It quickly transformed into a full-fledged smile. It didn't look fake either. Not like the ones Lucy uses on my mom when she tells her that her meatloaf is to die for.

She even chuckled. "Yeah, but that wasn't as bad as the time in sixth grade when I tripped and accidentally pulled down Mr. Rouque's pants." I exploded with laughter. I clearly remember that moment; she tripped and grabbed the first thing she could to steady herself. Poor Mr. Rouque.

I glanced over at her while she held her sides from laughter overload. Tears blurred her vision and she lost her balance. Thinking on my feet, I reached down and took hold of her wrists and hauled her back to her feet. Her skin felt tender and raw. Curiously, I peeled her sleeves back. My blood ran cold. There were bruises everywhere and of every size. Before I could take a closer look, she yanked her arms away from my grasp, and rubbed them tenderly. I looked down at her, catching her eye, and smiled softly. "What happened to you? It looks like a bear strangled your arms."

She shrugged, but after a moment of thinking, said. "Well, there I was in the heart of Africa, when a lion pounced on me. It's sole purpose: eat my arms for desert, but I wouldn't let 'em. Bugger left a nasty mark, huh?"

I laughed along with her. "No but seriously, how did you. . ."

"Hey, there you are." A voice boomed from behind Jo.

We both turned our attention to Jett, who appeared out of nowhere. Jo's smile instantly disappeared and was replaced with a straight line. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and brought her closer to him. She avoided any eye contact, and I felt rotten. When I took a closer look, I noticed the reason for her uneasiness.

Her body trembled.

She finally glanced up at me, but all I saw was pain and suffering, What's wrong with her? Or better yet, what's wrong with Jett?

He craned his neck to talk down to her, literally. "Where have you been? I was worried sick. You never returned any of my messages."

"I uh. . . s-sorry." She stuttered out focusing on the ground.

I decided to step in on her behalf. "Sorry man. I saw her all alone and came over to keep her company. I don't think she intentionally forgot to call you." I stuffed my hands into my pockets.

He surveyed us both, trying to understand what had been going in prior to his arrival. "Alright. Well, thanks for watching out for my girl here." He smiled, but not a genuine one, like Jo's. "She always seems to slip away from me. Gotta keep a good eye on her."

I didn't agree with that statement at all, but I was too tired and wasn't up for a fight, so I nodded halfheartedly. "Yeah, I guess. " I paused, scanning the crowd for Lucy, who was AWOL. Then I returned to Jett and asked him the question on my mind for a while now. "So, how long have you guys been dating?"

Jo's eyes widened, but kept them on the ground. Jett smiled broadly. "What, it's been like a year, right babe?" Jo shrugged.

I yawned, and rubbed my eyes. Man it was late and I needed to get some sleep for school tomorrow. Plus, I still needed to find Lucy. I groaned inwardly. "Well, I've got to find Lucy and I think I'm fading, so I'm going to head out." Jett and I shook hands in the jock way. "I'll see you later, man." I outstretched my arms and enveloped Jo into a small hug. She didn't flinch or shake or anything. The truth is, I felt like that's where she should be; in my arms. Weird. I felt Jett's stare, so I pulled away. I get it. I'd be jealous if Lucy hugged some other dude longer than necessary, maybe.

They left, and as they went, Jo glanced back at me. I just waved and searched for my missing girlfriend. I checked the whole first floor without any luck. I sighed, and descended the flight of stairs leading to the basement. I found her dancing with her friends, Jennifer and Amber.

"KENDALL! Hey baby, where haf you been?" She slurred. Great. Now I had to explain _that_ to her parents. I dragged her out of the party and down the street back to the car.

After dropping Lucy off, and returning to my own house, I went straight to bed after stripping down to my boxers. Closing my eyes, my thoughts wandered to the mysterious girl at the party. Jo. As I drifted off, Jo didn't disappear from my head.

I sighed contently. I was actually looking forward to school tomorrow.

**/b/**

**Please let me know what you would like to see happen. I do take suggestions, you just gotta let me know :)**

**review maybe?**


	3. NOT a happy morning

**Hey, I'm back! Let me explain myself before y'all rip my head off. Okay, I know i've been gone for like 3 weeks, but I have a really good explanation. The first week I went on vaction, but my parents told us the day before we left that it would be extended to 2 weeks. So obviously you know what I did the second week. Then the Sunday we got back, I got home really late and went straight to bed. Monday, I woke up late and started to work on this, but my computer went all crazy American on me. So my dad took it to Best Buy blah blah blah. The 3rd was my grandma's birthday and they came up here to celebrate, then obviously the 4th of July. The 5th all the way up to today I had a basketball tourniment. We went 4-2 (4 wins 2 losses). Not bad for a showcase tourniment. **

**But I'm back and I'm going to try to update at least once a week, I know I said twice, but lets see how this goes.**

**I'm really so happy that you guys liked it so far. 15 reviews is the most I've EVER recieved for a story. And I'm only on chapter 2. I love you guys :) You rock! #WOOHOO!**

**Oh! Did you buy Windows Down yet? Cuz you should!**

**I'm going to stop rambling and let you read the chapter, which is long and may contain some language (thank you Jett).**

**Enjoy :)**

**/c/**

To say I was tired was an understatement.

I literally rolled out of bed and forced myself to clean up for school. In exhaustion, I put my shirt on backwards and inside-out. I'm not even sure if there's a word for this type of drowsiness. Imagine you pulled an all-nighter, played a hockey game, then slept for 5 hours. Yeah so I'm only going to school today because of the few tests I have. Truth be told, I didn't study for any of them because of hockey, but it doesn't matter because I know the material. Plus, one bad grade won't change my overall grade. I don't mean to brag, but my grades are pretty good.

Mostly B's and a stray A here or there.

I need to keep my grades up for hockey. Plus, I brought home a C on my report card once and just the look on my mom's face said it all. She was all disappointed and knew I could do better. I also have to set a good example for my little sister, Katie. She looks up to me and I don't think I could stand it if I let her down.

Anyways to top off my tiredness, I have to walk to school today. Well technically, everyday. I live right across from the school. Not exactly right across, more like a block or two away. But apparently we're close enough to walk to school.

So after a frigid walk, I grabbed my books out of my 2nd floor locker and headed to home room. I sat through morning announcements, only catching the synopsis a teammate wrote about the game. I dozed off and my dream scared the hell out of me.

I sat outside a frosty window looking in on a blonde girl sitting on the couch curled up in a blanket. She fervently checked her phone while watching something on TV. All of a sudden, someone knocked down the door, catching her attention. Their argument was very colorful, but she didn't participate as much as he. She looked like she wanted to be anywhere but there. I felt kinda bad for her. He proceeded to slap her and kick her when she fell. Anger boiled in me, but when I tried to storm in there and beat his sorry ass, my body didn't budge. I even tried to yell for help. Nothing. I watched with horror as he straddled her and roughly kissed her. It didn't take a rocket scientist to guess what was to come. Thank God Carlos woke me up.

"Come on man. First period starts soon." I blinked and noticed he was right. People were shuffling in and out of the classroom in preparation for first period.

" 'kay. Thanks." He nodded and left.

I followed him out the door with my backpack slung over my shoulder. I shuddered as I recalled the chilling dream. Maybe it was supposed to tell me something. Like a sign or symbol or something. Or it could be foreshadowing for something to come.

So that's how I walked into geometry.

I sat in the back and let the class pass by in a blur. They talked about circles and secants or something. I only copied down the homework from Tyler and walked to chemistry.

Logan greeted me before I could go in. "Hey, where were you last night after the game? The party was AWESOME!" He had this faraway look, which could only mean he met a girl.

I shrugged. "More importantly, where were _you_last night?" I grabbed my chem. notebook and binder, dropped my bag on the hook by the door, and sat down next to my lab partner.

"Well. . . I don't really know who I was with." Logan shrugged as he stood in front of my lab table.

"What? How can you _not_know who you were with? You were with her the whole time!" I asked incredulously.

His shy facade reappeared, which made me feel guilty about yelling at him. "I don't know. We danced and talked for a while. But when I went to go to the bathroom," I rolled my eyes; only Logan would go to a bathroom at this kind of party, " she was gone. I couldn't find her for the rest of the party."

"And you don't know her name or anything?" He shook his head glumly. I thought for a moment. "What do you remember about her that could give away her identity?"

He didn't hesitate to answer. "She had shoulder-length curly brown hair and a voice like an angel." His eyes glossed over.

I waved my hands over his eyes. "Earth to Logan!"

"Sorry." he replied sheepishly.

"Nah. It's ok. Seriously, I've never seen you so excited about a girl." I clapped him on his back in support. "So what are you going to do about it?"

Before he could reply, the bell rang, signally the start of the class period. Mr. O'Donnell ushered us back to our sears, so class could begin. Logan quickly responded with, "Later." and ran off to his table for class. I sighed and smiled at Logan. He's never been this excited over a girl before.

It was a welcomed change.

"Okay class, we're going to continue with our exploration of carbohydrates. You're going to use the formulas from yesterday to create 3D models with your partner today. And that should take you the whole class period. Directions are on the board. Don't forget to fill out the worksheet I handed out yesterday. Any questions?" We all shook our heads and quickly busied ourselves with the assigned work.

"Alright, so do you want to build the models then check each others? Or just do it independently?" I asked grabbing the worksheet from my binder.

"We can uh work together if you want." She said in a small voice. A _familiar_voice. I glanced up at her and had to withhold my gasp.

My lab partner was Jo.

How did I not notice this earlier? I've been her lab partner for almost a whole semester and today I realized who she was. I guess before, I didn't really care, but for some reason, she matters now. Does that sound conceited? I'm such a bad person.

"You just noticed I was your lab partner, huh ?" She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear nervously. I'm guessing she expected this, but didn't want to speak up about it.

"Uh, yeah. Sorry 'bout that." I admitted sheepishly.

An awkward silence passed between us. I just stared down my worksheet, reading and rereading the questions. This is stupid. I'm not going to let some awkwardness stop me from completing the assignment. I'm just going to suck it up and move past the fact that I only now acknowledged her existence.

I faced her and she timidly glanced up at me. That's when I noticed something monumental. No wonder she was being even more reserved than last night. She had something to hide. Although, I can't believe she could hide something that prominent. Well, I didn't notice it until now. Then again I'm not the smartest person out there. She must be used to hiding things if she can conceal something like this.

Around her left eye, a black and blue bruise took refuge. It was voluminous. It looked like it really hurt, but as I processed this, I realized she didn't have that last night. Plus it looked raw.

She must've noticed my staring because she cleared her throat and said, "So uh we should probably get started."

I nodded. "So we need to build a polyunsaturated monosaccharide." I glanced down at the first question. "Which is the answer to number 1."

"Uh…" She nervously stated at the sheet.

"You okay?" I asked hesitantly. She seemed lost, but if I asked her and I was wrong, I'd probably have my head chewed off..

She sighed. "I'm so STUPID!" She whisper-yelled. "Why don't I understand this?"

"Hey! Don't beat yourself up over his stuff." I consoled. "It just takes some time to pick."

She fervently shook her head. "It's useless. I'm too stupid to learn anything." She scoffed. "I'm barely passing this class."

I tried a smile. "Maybe you just need some help."

Just as she was about reply, Mr. O handed back both of our recent tests, facedown. I curled the top of mine to glance at the grade. I smiled, 91. Not bad. I turned to Jo, and immediately frowned. The look on her face touched something inside of me. She appeared upset, but something in the way she held herself told me this happened quite frequently. She seemed _tired_of scoring so low. I mean, who wouldn't?

I placed a gentle hand on her shoulder compassionately, but she still flinched at my touch. What's wrong with me? Am I that intimidating? Maybe it's not me. Maybe it's her. Hmm.

"Hey, you alright?" I mentally slapped myself. Duh! She looked like she'd fallen off the deep end. Stupid!

"Yeah, I guess. I'm just sick of not knowing anything." She shrugged and slouched on her stool.

"Here, let me see." I outstretched my hand. She hesitated, peeking out from behind her black hood to make sure the offer was legit. I smiled when she handed me her heavily-marked test paper.

I scanned it over, nodding my head and emitting an occasional 'mhmm'. After I assessed the paper, I scooted closer and explained where she went wrong with each incorrect question. From what I could tell, some of her mistakes were silly. Like for one, the answer was in the previous question. But, she mostly didn't comprehend the material and guessed blindly.

I glanced up at the clock and panicked. We had 5 minutes left, and hadn't completed but one question. She seemed to notice as well, but chose not to care. WHY DIDN'T SHE CARE! I pinched the bridge of my nose in aggravation.

"Okay, so we haven't completed anything and there's like 5 minutes left of class and it's due today. Any ideas?" I asked her dejectedly.

She shrugged and focused on the black Formica table top.

I sighed.

_RIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!_

I collected my things and shuffled with the class to grab my backpack. I quickly grabbed Jo's wrist before she could leave. Despite her struggle, I was able to successfully pull her along. And with Jo within my grasp, we walked up to Mr. O'Donnell's desk.

"Hey, Mr. O'Donnell." He looked up from his work and smiled at us. "Um we weren't able to finish the sheet and build the models and I know they are due today. Is there any way we could stay after school to complete them?"

He mulled it over for a few brief moments. "Sure. As long as _both _of you are present after school, Ms. Taylor." He gave Jo a non-intimidating glare, if that makes sense. He almost talked to her with his eyes. She nodded, staring at her feet. "Great. I have a meeting until 3:30. So that is all the time you will get. Understood?' We both nodded. "Good, now off to class before you're late."

"Thanks." I called over my shoulder as I hurried to my next class. Then I realized, I needed to stop by my locker to pick up my chorus folder. Don't laugh, but I'm in choir. I enjoy singing for some reason. Plus, I'm required to take at least one elective and when I forgot to write something down, they assigned me to this. Thankfully, my locker is on the second floor, which is the same as the chorus room.

As I opened my locker, I heard a man shouting. It appeared to be coming from around the corner. I looked both ways and for some reason, the hallway was deserted. I still had a minute or so. But it would take a minute to get to class. Plus it was wrong to eavesdrop. My curiosity won out and I quietly tiptoed past my locker and peered around the corner. And who do I find standing there?

Jo and Jett.

Either this just started happening or I had just started to notice. Jo stood hunched over, ashamed of something, while Jett kept roaring at her. I only caught the end of the one-sided argument, but I got the gist of it pretty quickly. ". . . failed test! Again! Why can't you be as smart as me? You are the biggest dumbass I've ever met! How about _trying_ to pass a single Goddamn test for once! Geez. I don't even know why I'm still with you. You're dumb as fuck, you never seem to wear enough makeup, and now you're cheating on me with MY OWN TEAMMATE! God, you can do better. Oh wait. NO YOU CAN'T! This is bullshit. Just BULLSHIT! You better prove you're worth my time. . ." He sighed and looked her up and down.

Out of nowhere, he slapped her across the face with the same force you'd use to take down a truck driver. She fell to the floor with a sickening thud.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you! I'm an important person in your life and you don't have the decency to look me in the eyes?"

Anger boiled up within me. Why would he go off on her instead of trying to help her? And again with the violence. Man, Jett has some anger issues. But then again, he is her boyfriend, so I guess he knows how to handle problems with her. I just wish he'd be a little nicer. She doesn't deserve it.

I decided to withdraw myself before I intervened, which could spell big trouble for not only me, but Jo. So, I returned to my locker and as I shut it, I saw Jett rounding the corner. Alone. He even wore a smile. He greeted me warmly. "Hey what's up, dude? You ready for Thursday night's game against the Tigers?"

I faked a smile and nodded halfheartedly. "Yup, well I gotta get to class." I quickly shut my locker and practically took off down the hallway towards the choir room, leaving Jett in the dust.

I made it on time, thankfully.

The thing about our choir room, is it used to be the old LGI. Which meant there were a lot of stuck-in-the-ground chairs. Obviously the reason for it being the choir room.

I sat down next to James and Logan with a huff. Logan was in the same boat as I regarding chorus, but James is an aspiring singer, so he actually meant to sign up for it.

The bell rang and Mr. Stamis hushed the class. He pulled out his attendance book and began calling roll. Then he reached a name I'd rather not think about. "Jo Taylor?"

Shit!

**/c/**

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	4. Count On Me

**Sorry for the late update, but I've been _very_ distracted lately. Before I go into that, I have to say thank you to januarysummers for her helpful reminder that I have a story to write for you guys. So thanks for yor help :) Now for the major reason of my absense. It's going to be long, so I've decided to have a designated paragraph of my rant so you guys can skip it if you want.**

**~RANT~**

**So Sunday I was extremely bored and asked my dad if he could take me to a movie. I heard the spiderman movie was pretty good and i knew i wanted to see it for myself. After some convincing, my dad allowed me to go. .AMAZING! The story plot was fantastic and different from the prior movies. Plus the relationship between Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy was soo adorable. FYI: Gwen Stacy is his first love if you didn't know already. Anyway, I got home and got on with my life for a few hours. Then I got to thinking about it and the more I thought about it, the more my heart swelled and my affection towards the movie grew. So like any rational person, I went onto fanfiction. Then after a while, I went onto youtube and watched the Gwen/Peter videos, which were so adorable. Then I kept looking through the videos and found some of the interviews with the cast. I was shocked at first because the guy who plays spider-man in the movie was British! His name is andrew garfield. His leading lady, emma stone, was seriously one of the funniest people I've seen/heard/not met. I kept going through the videos and soon enough I created a playlist so I could keep traack of them all. Soon, I noticed a pattern. Emma and Andrew were subtly sweet to each other. He'd help her down the stairs by holding her hand and pulled out her chair for her. She'd poke fun of him and he with her. But the cutest thing is, no matter what they made the other laugh. It was soooooooooooooooooooooooo amazingly cute. So i did some 'research' and found out they started dating like a month after they met (btw they immediatly hit it off during the screen test)! I nearly died. So I spent the following days fangirling on fanfiction and youtube. But I've hit a crossroads. I love them soo much but... Okay so here's the thing, they are coming out with a sequel which i'm totally siked about, but according to the comics, peter's enemy (who i cant remember) captures Gwen after he realizes how close she is to him. He throws gwen off a building and instead of soaring down to rescue her, he shoots a web down to save her. Unfortunaly, because she was traveling at such a fast velocity, when she stopped instantly, she died. So he technically killed his love. WHICH I CAN'T STAND! WHY WOULD MARVEL DO THAT!? dont answer that. DO THEY LIKE CRUSHING DREAMS!? no dont answer that either. However, I kept going and found they released a kind of 'What Ifs' comic and they say he was able to save her. Now I really want the writers to keep gwen alive, but emma knows how tragic the gwen stacy saga is and says shes okay with it. On the other hand, andrew says hes dissapointed. Although it is not revealed the fate of our dear gwen stacy, but i know its inevitable that they are going to kill her off. So im like depressed now and my family is like 'its just a movie' but the thing with me is i love these things and obsess over things. *sigh* did i miss anything? **

**~RANT~**

**I know you're going to see that and be like 'wow she needs a therapist or a diary' and i laugh along with you :) let me know if you've seen it and maybe we can discuss some of the matters above. If you haven't, well you know how I feel about it ;) BTW my rant is exactly 550 words and i just wrote it in with the rest of the AN, which is funny. if any of you read the whole rant let me know ;)**

**Ohh before i let you go, im really excited to finally see BTR in concert on August 11! If you have a good poster idea let me know cuz all i got is 'when you rule the world, can i be your queen?'. Also check out my youtube channel for my videos and mostly playlists, but i make a mean playlist :) im actually working on a video now of emma and andrew (ive sorta let go of the peter and gwen thing 9a little bit) and drifted towards the most permanent thing at this point). I got sony vegas pro 11 (free trial) so it should be okay this time. still new to it but the expert was once the beginner :)**

**Alright read because you've probably already lost interest.**

**/d/**

Okay, don't freak out! It's none of your business whether she's on time or not. Maybe this'll be the first time she's been tardy. Or maybe not. Ahhhh! If she's late she'll get a detention and then we won't be able to get our work done after school. I need to keep her out of trouble...

"Has anyone seen Ms. Taylor today?" he asked the class.

No one paid him any attention, probably because they didn't know who she was. Although, Camille Roberts, the school drama 'enthusiast', spoke up and claimed she saw her in geometry first period. Were they in my class? Man, talk about clueless.

He surveyed the class and muttered, "So. . . no one has seen Ms. Taylor since then?" under his breath as he marked the attendance sheet.

"NO!" Every head briskly turned to me. That's a lot of eyes watching my every move. I gulped, what was I doing?

Mr. Stamis glanced up at me as well. "Yes, Mr. Knight? You know where she is?" he asked skeptically.

"I uh she is um well you see she. . ." I struggled to make a solid sentence, trying to think up a full-proof excuse. Then after some quick last-minute thinking, I blurted out the first place I could think of on such short notice. ". . . went to the bathroom?"

Right after I finished my sentence, the door creaked open and who stood before us? Jo. Of course. All eyes were transfixed on her. Her black hood was up to 'protect' her and her gaze fell upon the floor.

"Ah, Ms. Taylor. Can you please explain your reason for arriving to class tardy. Again." He impatiently tapped his pen on the clipboard in anticipation.

I hastily unzipped my backpack and grabbed a pen and a notebook. I quickly flipped to a blank entry and scribbling down "YOU WERE IN THE BATHROOM!"

I looked up at her figure, which still captivated everyone's attention, and saw her shrug. She didn't look anywhere but the floor, so I had to capture her attention. Huh, shouldn't be too hard. . . have you seen me? I'm gorgeous!

I cleared my throat, but she didn't pay me any attention. Maybe she thought I was trying to get someone else's attention. Ugh! So I coughed. Louder. LoUdEr. LOUDER. I received a few errand stares from people, who probably thought I was going to cough up a lung or two. It doesn't matter though because I _finally_ got her attention.

She shyly glanced up at me and we locked eyes for an instant. In that brief moment, I saw the slightest curl of her lips. Not wasting any time at all, I subtly lifted the notebook up and quickly brought it back down a moment later.

"I'm waiting Ms. Taylor." Mr. Stamis said, impatiently tapping his pen on the clipboard.

"I was uh," she gave me a wary glance, to which I nodded and she turned back to our waiting teacher, "in the bathroom. Sorry sir." She said and continued to look at the floor.

After a momentary pause, he sighed, "Alright, but next time please do remember your lavatory pass." She nodded. "Please take your seat so we can get on with class."

She quickly shuffled down the aisle and sat next to Camille, who smiled warmly and patted her shoulder.

Once attendance was out of the way, Mr. Stamis informed us on our next project, which was due sometime next week. "This is a duet project..." The room buzzed with excitement as to who they would choose as their other half. Most eyes turned to me. I'm not saying this as a conceited jerk or anything, just an observation. Actually the only girls I didn't catch eyes with were Camille and Jo. That could be due to them sitting in front of me or their lack of ability to turn around a stare at me. Nonetheless, it bugged me. Now I know _that_ sounds stuck up.

Mr. Stamis hushed the class and they returned their attention to the front so he could continue with the explanation. "Anyways. . .all the young women will come up front and pick a name out of a hat-" Complaints filled the room when we realized we weren't going to be able to _choose _our partner. He sighed in frustration and picked the hat up from his desk behind him. Before I could blink, all the girls stormed him for a small piece of paper.

I laughed. Poor Mr. Stamis.

They cleared the scene, revealing a disheveled Mr. S. He shook his head, trying to shake off what happened, and waved his hand dismissively. We already knew what we had to do. We did one each month.

I stretched back in my chair and watched the girls mill around, finding their partner and glancing at me glumly.

Typical.

"Uh, Kendall?" I glanced up at the sound of her voice and sat straight up.

"Jo? You're my partner?" I asked in disbelief.

Her eyebrows furrowed. "Yeah. Unfortunately." She remarked.

"No, sorry. I-I didn't mean it like that. It's just- We just keep getting paired up together for stuff."

She sighed. "Can I sit down?"

"Yeah, sorry." I moved my bag under my chair so she could take the seat to my left.

Once she sat down, she adjusted her hood and looked down at her hands in her lap. She didn't acknowledge my existence as she slipped back into her own world.

Great. Just great. How the hell are we going to finish the project if she won't even look at me? I guess I should take some initiative and start up the process.

"So. . ."

Nothing.

"Uh, so what kind of music do you like?" Probably heavy metal or emo or something really obnoxious.

"Mat Kearney." She mumbled.

"What?" I asked out of both shock and lack of clarity.

"I uh like Mat Kearney." I saw her nose poke out of her hood.

"Cool. Anything else?" I had to keep the ball rolling.

" I like SafetySuit. . .The Cab. . .Parachute. . ." she trailed off.

"REALLY?"

I must have reacted too loud because she shrunk away from me. I wasn't yelling at her. Not like _some_ people. She really must be used to this kind of thing for her to automatically shy away from me.

"Oh. No I'm not yelling at you. I'm just. . . uh excited to see we share the same taste in music." I know she couldn't see my face, but I smiled anyway.

"Cool."

I laid a gentle hand on her shoulder, to which she flinched. AGAIN! "Hey. I come in peace," I said half-joking.. " I'm a friend." I said sympathetically I don't know where that even came from. I wasn't even sure we could classify this kind of interaction as friendship. But the craziest thing is, I wouldn't have any objections to being friends.

She slowly turned her head to make sure my intentions were pure. "You a Jedi Knight ?" She asked, a majestic smile spreading across her face.

It took me a few moments to understand why she was smiling. First of all, when I said 'I come in peace', she thought of star wars and because she's wearing black, she symbolizes Darth Vader. Which means I must be Luke Skywalker, who is a Jedi Knight. Second of all, my last name is Knight, so it's a pun. She's pretty clever when it comes to jokes. It took me a while to understand it.

"That depends. " I raised my eyebrows and curved my lips upwards.

"Will you come to the dark side?" She played along. This time she revealed her chocolate brown eyes.

"Do you have cookies?" I tried to ask it really seriously, but one look at Jo and we were laughing.

Just another observation.

Jo's eyes sparkled.

I felt bold in the moment and reached up and brushed the top of her head to push her hood off. It was one fluid motion that left my hand on the back of her neck. I was going to remove it as soon as it made contact with her skin, but something stopped me. She didn't try to shake it off like I predicted. Instead, we just sat there in silence connected only by my hand and our eyes. "There. That's better." My voice was just above a whisper. We sat there in a comfortable silence.

"What happened to your eye?" I know that was really random and out of the blue, but was bugging me ever since I saw it in Bio.

She looked down, "Uh. . . "

I moved my hand to brush the bottom portion with my thumb. I definitely caught her off-guard. My thumb lingered there, just feeling the tender flesh. She blushed and was about to answer. That is until my buddy, James, took notice of our intimate moment.

"Hey K-Dog! Keep it PG for the rest of us, will ya?"

Heads turned in our direction , and I know he's like one of my best buds, but I wish he would've just smiled and turned away.

I sighed, closing my eyes, and looked back at Jo sheepishly. "Sorry." I withdrew my hand and rubbed it with my other one in my lap.

"S'okay." She shift her gaze and tucked an errand strand of hair behind her ear.

"So. . . what song did you want to do?" I said changing the subject.

She thought about it for a second before answering my question with one of her own. "Do you know Count On Me by Mat Kearney?"

"Is that the one that goes, You can count on me, when you can-not see, let me spell it out, plain and simple now?"

She nodded and we both sang the rest of the following chorus in complete harmony. "Hey I love you, hey I need you, hey I want you do you want me too, you can count on me, when you cannot see, let me spell it out, plain and simple now, when your numbers called, backs against the wall, pick you up when you fall, be there when you call."

We cracked a smile.

Before we could utter a single syllable to each other, the bell rang and rang quite obnoxiously at that. I broke eye contact and just like that, she rifted back into her 'life sucks' mood. She quickly grabbed her bag and slid out of the row to meet up with Camille in aisle down where Logan was sitting. I shook the daze off and grabbed mine as well.

"Before you guys go, remember that project will need to be worked on outside of class, so work that out with your partner. Also an added bonus. If your song has some depth and you're not singing _I'm Sexy And I know It_ , I'll give you some extra credit. Although, I'm not sure how many of you really need points in this class. All you need to do is show up." He chuckled. "All right. Get outta here."

As I walked to the door leading to the hallways, behind Jo and Camille of course, I sighed. Jo won't talk to me unless she warms up to me first. So how was I going to just approach her in the hallway and schedule a place and time for us to work on our project? Not to mention her freakishly loud boyfriend who could potentially hurt her more if I so much looked her way. I ran a hand through my hair and yawned. I'm never going to get through the day.

Just as we exited the room and we diverged, Jo looked back at me and gave me a sweet, genuine smile. Those are pretty rare, from what I can tell. And then she disappeared into the High School crowd.

This was going to be a longer day than I realized.

**/d/**

**did you guys like it? please let me know and ill try to update faster :)**

**love y'all**

**LSL**


	5. Distractions and Interuptions

**Hello internet! I'm sorry this chapter is a month late, but better late then never right? Well, yeah. **

**Have you guys watched big time decision? Cuz it was afbksjgbkjbhkglsblgh AMAZING! I'm also reading The Mark Of Athena, which is the 3rd book in the lost hero series. I'm seriously in love with percy/annabeth so yeah :) hope your lives are more interesting than mine cuz mine is just a stupid cycle of school and sports. plus my parents are getting a divorce, which is hard on me and my sister because we have to move out of the house we live in now and into 2 count 'em 2 houses :( not happy at all.**

**ooooh im going to do something new and answer some questions/revies :**

**Alecks454: actually i thought of that, but i dont know. at least for now its only going to be kendall, but because you asked I'll think about it :) oh, but i will reveal this: you will see Jo's voice through an aquired journal and thats all I'm going to leave you with.**

**xSmilexAlwaysx : Of course! Anything for you, and i love your username :)**

**BTR14 : YEAH! BOI! my brotha! haha its nice to 'meet' someone with smilar view points.**

**KickButt26 : i think i already answered this in a pm, but im nott sure, but im hoping to have around 25 or so. maybe more :)**

**BTRhpgeek21 : okay before i say any more YOU ALL MUST READ HER STORIES! THEY ARE AMAZING AND SHE'S SO VERY SUPPORTIVE :) anyway, yes i know isnt that so fun! thank you :)**

**happygirl57 : haha indeed! thats part of the plan but as the story goes on, you may see jo pull away a bit so just watch for that :) **

**januarysummers : awww you make me blush :) its only because i have such great reviewers!**

**Ifyouruledtheworld : UPDATED just for you my dear :)**

**SuperNeos2 : I know right! thats going to be so fun to right and i already have an idea, but if you have one as well, let me know :)**

**Jamie1229 : i know you reviewed the 2nd chapter but this is so flattering thank you so much !**

**Thank you to all who reviewed, i just did this for those who reviewed the 4th chapter + Jamie1229 because my sister wanted me to stay downstairs while she typed a paper :) Your reviews really motivate me to keep going, so really by you telling me what you love or what you think i should do, you're pushing me to keep this going. I love you all so much for your support! I feel like a celebrity B)**

**Well enough rambling, READ!**

**/e/**

Yawning , I walked into 4th period Spanish III with Mrs. Constanzo-Fortuno (still don't understand why she needs a super long last name), where Logan greeted me by the door with a broad smile plastered on his face. I wasn't sure it was possible for it to be that big. Logan isn't a smiling person to begin with, so I wasn't sure what today's class period had in store for me.

I gave him a wavering smile as I proceeded to my chair. "Hey buddy, something you want to talk about?"

He slammed his palms roughly onto my desk, staring me down with an even bigger smile tugging on his lips. I jerked my head up in surprise and outrage, but they both melted away when I saw how elated he was. Besides, I couldn't stay mad at him, especially when he's got all this pent up positive energy. I placed my folder and notebook atop my desk, folded my hands, and waited for the ensuing explanation.

"Okay, so you know how I was trying to figure out who the mystery girl I danced with last night was?" I nodded and he continued. "Well...I may have a lead."

I leaned over in anticipation. "Really? That's great Logie!"

"I know! Well I think I've narrowed it down." He took a deep breath, like this was some life-altering scenario. But-hey, this could be a big deal for him. Logan hasn't been on very many dates, mostly because he's always studying or practicing (did I mention he's on the hockey team?) or something anti-social like that. "I can now confidently say, she's in our grade."

I sighed and let my head droop over my folded hands. "LOGAN!" I whined. "That's not much of a lead!" I chuckled and folded my hands behind my neck and leaned my head against the desk.

"Well, it is to me." He huffed and leaned his hands on the desk in front of us. Unfortunately for Logan, he pushed too hard and the whole row of desks squeaked and he toppled forwards. The few kids in class chuckled quietly and chatted among themselves about it.

The desk muffled my laughter and I wiped away a few errand tears to check if he was alright.

Poor Logan. He sat there, hand still on the back of the chair, and had his legs strewn out on the floor. He grunted and stood up, dusting himself off. "I guess I don't know my own strength." He said to no one in particular.

I chortled, "Sure, buddy. Whatever you say."

_RIIIIIIIIIING!_

Logan shuffled over to his desk, leading the crowd of late kids running into class at the last possible moment. Usually that's me, but after chorus I wasn't in the mood to talk with the guys that congregated around the water fountain down the hall.

And it was all Jo's fault! Why was she so mysterious and quiet and innocent and beautiful...wait. Forget the latter one. Did I think she was beautiful? I guess in the innocent, conservative sort of way.

"Alright class! Settle down. Settle down, now. So today, we'll be working with -ar, -er, and -ir conjugations. Now, to conjugate..." And I pretty much zoned out after that. I mean, hear me out. Who wants to listen to a boring teacher lecture us on prior knowledge ? Yeah, and it's not even that. Mrs. Fortuno isn't the most appealing person. Oh, who am I kidding, she's so ugly.

She's like not even 5 foot and she still dresses like she's living in the '70's. Her pants always go up past her belly-button and her shirts have little animals on them. Then to top it off, I'm pretty sure she doesn't wear a bra 'cuz let me tell you, there is something wrong up there. Oh and plus her hair is thinning on the top of her head and her teeth are yellower than a lemon.

Anyway, I kept thinking about Jo and the bruises and how secretive she was being. Although, it struck me that we barely knew each other, so she had a right to keep things from me. I'd probably be freaked out if someone was prying into my personal life. For her, she had the advantage of it being me. I am gorgeous, so she shouldn't complain.

But there was still Jett.

Ugh, just thinking about him made me cringe. I don't know what Jo did for him to hurt her like that. Well, it wasn't that bad; a few slaps from what I saw. Maybe she's not the sweet innocent girl she makes herself appear to be. Hmmm. I'm going to need to watch out for that.

The rest of class passed by way too slowly for my liking. We did a few worksheets, where I got to work with Logan, but nothing else really happened.

_RIIIIIING!_

Thank God! I packed up my stuff and hauled my bag over my shoulder. Logan met me by the door and we walked to lunch together like we always did.

We wove our way through the crowded halls and he tried to explain to me his plan of action to find his mystery girl. Man, he could have my mystery girl.

I bought my lunch-some form of meat between two pieces of bread-like material- and sat down at our usual table of jocks. Logan was already eating out of his brown bag when I sat down and James and Carlos had just dropped their bags off to get in line. A few other guys-Jake, Dylan, and Tyler-were already talking in depth about our upcoming game Tuesday. I started to add my opinion on the subject, when I glanced over at the table across from us.

Camille and Jo were huddled together, talking animatedly about something when Jett slammed his tray on the table, startling them. Jo glanced up at him and tried a smile, but even from here, I knew it was fake. He tossed her half of his sandwich and she nearly ate the wrapping. She must've been really hungry, or like me who doesn't usually eat a whole lot for breakfast. She finished the thing in under a minute and just sat there watching him eat. Jett can definitely eat, but the look of longing in her eyes told me she was still hungry. Why couldn't he give her a few chips or something. Camille was about to hand her a granola bar, but one look at Jett told her no.

Was everyone at this school afraid of him?

I shook it off. I need to relax. She's none of my business. Plus, if she didn't like him, she could always break up with him, right?

Lucy's presence brought me out of my thoughts. She sat on my lap and kissed me full-out on the lips. I heard a few wolf-whistles and some guys hooting and hollering about unnecessary PDA, but I ignored them. I needed a distraction right now and Lucy was just the thing to get my mind off a certain blonde.

She sat in the chair next to me after a few seconds and ate her lunch, happily texting away on her phone.

The rest of the day slowly ticked by. I had English after lunch, where we watched some movie on the Odyssey or something. Then in Social Studies, we copied notes about Charlemagne, who was like the beast of the Middle Ages. And that brought me to gym. The most epic of classes. Today was no exception.

Mrs. Turner let us pelt each other with red rubber balls. My team dominated because I'm a beast like Charlemagne. I tried not to hit the girls because that's like totally wrong. I want to date girls, not beat them up.

_RIIIIIIIIIIIIING!_

And with the final bell, I grabbed my bag and headed towards the stairwell. I took my time up to Mr. O's classroom. I talked with Carlos and some girl (Stephanie maybe) before he had to catch his bus and grabbed some stuff out of my locker before walking in that direction.

The halls gradually thinned out as more and more students ran to catch their bus or hung out in the library or something boring like that. You'll never catch me in a library. It just doesn't happen.

I slowly opened the door and saw a black blob sitting hunched over the table. She laid her head, presumably, in her hands. I couldn't see anything under her hood, which covered her whole head and face. She did, however, jerk up when the door closed softly behind me.

She visibly relaxed when she recognized me standing there with a sheepish grin on my face. I scanned the room, but we were the only life forms present. I sighed and plopped my bag down on the stool next to her. I retrieved my binder and after setting my bag on the floor, we set to work.

Surprisingly, we finished the whole worksheet before Mr. O returned. Jo wasn't a dumb person, she just needed some extra explanations, which I gladly gave her. She understood the jist of what we were working on and even though we finished slower than expected, we finished nonetheless.

Although, throughout the worksheet and the actual building of the molecules, she kept glancing up at the door. I don't know if she was expecting someone or she was just antsy. I get a little ADHD sometimes, but not to this extent. Oh well, she must have someplace to go.

As I made my way to the front desk to hand in our completed papers, I heard a THUMP and WOOSH! I turned around to see papers gently gliding through the air and Jo sprawled out on the floor, holding her knee.

I walked over and extended my hand for her assistance. I helped her up to a sitting position and removed her hands from her knee, so I could inspect it. There wasn't any blood, but she may have sprained it or turned it. Or most likely, she just landed on it funny. I delicately placed my palm on her skin. She sharply inhaled at my touch. I ran my thumb gingerly around her knee and pressed lightly in a few areas, trying my hardest not to hurt her.

"Well, the good news is your knee isn't sprained or twisted. Just a little swollen. Did you trip or something?" I said after I finished checking it out.

"Yeah." She looked down at her hands. "I um didn't mean to I just uh tripped over the leg of the desk. Sorry."

"You don't need to apologize for that. It was an accident." I noticed my hands still wrapped around her knee, and she must've too because we both looked up at the same time. Her worried expression melted under my stare. However, as soon as she realized what she was doing, she broke the eye contact and started to stand up.

I offered her my hand and with one strong pull, I lifted her to her feet."There you go."

I glanced around at the papers spread out around the floor and bent down to help with the clean-up process. I had a few papers in hand when I spotted her terrible test grade. Something washed over me-compassion or sympathy or something-, but I suddenly had the urge to ameliorate it. I never usually volunteered to do this, but before I could stop myself, I said. "You know, I could probably help you get your grades up." She glanced up at me wearily, like it couldn't be done, but I persisted. "No seriously. I could tutor you after-school for a little while before hockey practice."

She shrugged. "Well, I guess so." She said hesitantly.

"Great." I beamed. "How about we start tomorrow. Meet me by the flagpole out front and we can walk to my house after school. Okay?" I tried not to sound too hopeful, but I was kind of looking forward to this.

She nodded. "Okay, but wha-"

The door flew open and Jett strode in, surveying the scene in front of him. Apparently, he wasn't too happy with me helping her or her being near another guy because his chipper mood turned sour. "HEY, JO! I told you to meet me outside 10 minutes ago! I didn't know where the hell you were!"

Jo grabbed the papers out of my hands and bolted up to pack her bag, but staggered a bit. She stuffed the papers in her bag, not caring if they were crumpled, and shouldered it before dashing out the open door.

At that moment, Jett noticed me standing there awkwardly and acted like that was totally normal behavior for them. "Hey, man. Ready for hockey tonight? I heard coach is goina' kick our asses to get ready for the game next Tuesday!"

I faked a smile. "Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't. I uh gotta go or my mom'll think I've been kidnapped or something."

He nodded in understanding. "Yeah, sorry about Jo. She just doesn't take others into consideration when she acts, You get used to it after a while."

I looked at him, confused. "No, it's alright. It wasn't really her fault, I was helping her-"

"Yup, that sounds like her. Always taking up other people's time because she doesn't know anything." He chuckled at his own sick joke.

He was about to object, but he saw Jo give him a look that said _stop talking or I'll get into more trouble_, so he just nodded.

"Alright, I'll see you tonight, man." Jett said and walked Jo out to the stairs. AS they left, he could hear a few bits and pieces of their 'conversation' resonate.

" -BOTHERING HIM WITH YOUR DUMB QUESTIONS...FUCKING RETARD...KEEPING ME LATE...ALL YOUR FUCKING FAULT"

Yeah, Jett had some nice things to say.

I sighed and my heart went out to Jo. I grabbed my back pack and started my trek home. Mom had made homemade mac 'n cheese, which I had two helpings of.

Hockey was the same old same old, just with more wind sprints (on skates mind you). Every time I shot on goal, I let out some of my confusion and anger towards Jett-who was conveniently goal keeping tonight. I just couldn't understand the reason for yelling at a sweet shy girl like Jo.

Still, my resolve told me to butt out because it didn't involve me. The problem was, I wanted it to involve me because my conscience told me it was the right thing to do. Better yet, my heart told me it was the right thing to do.

**/e/**

**hope you guys liked it and if you have any questions or suggestions, dont ask me! :) **

**JUST JOSH'N Y'ALL!**

**well, bye guys love y'all**

**LSL**


	6. Tips to Successful Flirting

**Hey guys! No i'm not dead. High school is tough man! Very ****time-consuming, but I managed to finish this chapter in about 5 months :) Sorry bout that. Its a longer chapter and although its not that important, it does have some hints as to whats going on with Jo and Jett (Like you didn't already know).**

**Hope you like it. FyI: the next chapter is super duper important and like amazing :)**

**Oh and vote for them for best musical group for the kcal! And carlos too.**

**Thank you to anyone who reviewed or favorited or followed this story! Love you all :)**

**Disclaimer: i don't own Big Time Rush. I wish I did, but I don't.**

**/f/**

I groaned as my alarm blared. Ugh, why does school have to start so early in the morning? I rolled out of bed and wiped the sleep from my eyes as I trudged into the bathroom. The light hurt my eyes and I kind of tripped over my feet in a daze and fell flat on my face.

"Ow."

I had half a mind to just lay there and doze off right there on my bathroom rug, but I knew I needed to get going or I'd be late.

I moaned as I picked myself up off the floor, and dusted myself off. I brushed my teeth and ran a comb through my knotted dirty blond hair. I flipped it once and smiled at myself in the mirror. Damn, that hair looks good. I snapped and pointed at the mirror and smirked.

"Kendall Knight, you are one handsome devil."

I pounded on my sister's, Katie. door and dodged the incoming projectile. Oh never mess with my sister's beauty sleep. Like ever. "Come on Katie, you gotta get up." I left before anything else was thrown my way.

I ditched my white t-shirt and boxers (do you want an even more in-depth description than that, you dirty people?) for a pair of dark wash skinny jeans, a green, yellow, and orange plaid button up with a different white t-shirt underneath, and my black vans. In other words, my classic look.

I grabbed a pop-tart from the pantry and flew out the door. The crisp morning air nipped at my skin and I shivered as I clutched my coat more tightly around my body. The walk actually wasn't that bad this morning; I caught up with some friends and we talked about the game next Tuesday. I met up with James and his entourage of giggling girls at my locker and he showed off a little with his musical talents. I couldn't help but roll my eyes as one girl asked to feel his muscle.

I walked into homeroom just as the warning bell blared. Carlos and Steven were already there and working on last night's geometry homework. I smiled. Ha, see I'm not the only one who uses homeroom as a study hall. Logan walked in a few moments later and sat down in front of me.

He swiveled in his seat and gave me another signature Logan Mitchell I'm-so-smart-I-can't-believe-it smiles. I sighed, "Okay, I give. What's up?"

"I'm one step closer to figuring out who my mystery girl is. Are you ready for this?" I nodded. "Okay, well combined with yesterday's knowledge that she's in our year, I also found out that she has brown eyes."

I laughed. Logan may be the smartest guy I know, but he's so inexperienced when it comes to finding useful information to track down a mystery girl. But as a good friend, I played along. "And how did you find this out?"

"Well, I remember at the party when she would laugh, her eyes would sparkle. They were a dazzling brown, with so much depth I could get lost in them..."

I sat back in my seat and watched with amusement as he zoned out. After a few minutes of his imagination running wild, I shook him out of it.

He lightly blushed. "Sorry. That seems to be happening more frequently."

I waved him off. "Come on, man. Embrace it!" He gave me a quizzical look. "Don't feel ashamed by it; you've finally found a girl that makes you feel like this. All you have to do is figure out WHO that person is."

He nodded in understanding and smiled. "Thanks, man."

"Oh, and one more thing. Try to narrow your search a little more. Do you remember who she was hanging around before you m-"

RIIIIIIIIING!

Logan scurried over to his seat. James waltzed through the door with 2 girls hanging on his arms. He sat down after Mr. Hunt gave him a detention slip for tardiness. Not unusual. I'm actually surprised he's able to stay on the team with all the detentions he racks up.

The morning announcements came and went. I only caught one useful piece of information; the lunch menu. Carlos, Steven, and I walked to geometry after homeroom.

I sat in the third row from the front, next to Carlos. I'm pretty sure this was on purpose because every few seconds he'll ask for help. And I'm just naturally gifted at math.

"-and I couldn't find him because some drunk guy kept pestering me. Ugh! It's so frustrating! You know?"

I peered over at the door as Camille talked animatedly to Jo. She talked pretty loud for first period. Jo, on the other hand, exemplified the normal teen at 7:45 am; droopy eyelids, hunched over, walking groggily, and lack of attention.

She yawned and sat down next to Camille who still talked a mile a minute. I had to give props to Jo for acting the part of listening friend. And for looking presentable at this ungodly hour. Or at lest better than some people who came in with sweats on.

"Ooooooh! Kendall's blushing!" Carlos cooed.

The guys looked over and snickered at my discomfort. I plopped my head into my hands and groaned. I peeked out from spaces between my fingers to see Carlos whispering something to Bailey (friend of ours who plays basketball). I also saw Jo looking my way. I nearly had a heart attack.

She held up her notebook and written in the middle of the sheet was WE NEED TO TALK. The reason for my almost heart attack was on her wrist. A purple-green bruise wrapped around her wrist and it looked like it traveled further up her arm.

I gave a half smile and nodded.

RIIIIIIIIIIING!

I couldn't concentrate all through first and second period. Usually when a girl tells you need to talk, you're in some kind of trouble. Especially if you're not going out. Maybe she finally wants to tell me why she comes to school with bruises all over her body. Or maybe she's really into me and wants to ask me out. Wow…what a random thought.

But I was totally okay with that.

That's the problem though. I shouldn't be okay with it. I've got a girlfriend and she's got Jett (whatever she wants to call him). And it's wrong of me to go out with or at least think those thoughts about a taken girl. Right?

It didn't help that she sat next to through bio. I mean you already know we're lab partners, but today we were watching some archaic movie about cell division. Just shoot me. So I couldn't concentrate on anything at the moment.

She didn't even acknowledge my presence when I came in. I'm pretty sure she's using the period to catch up on her sleep.

I sighed in defeat. The period dragged by slowly. Way too slow if you ask me.

As we filed out of the classroom, I pulled Jo out of the crowd and over to the row of lockers to the right if the room. She immediately stiffened up and her face paled.

"What uh what did you want?" she asked in a small voice.

"We need to talk?"

She simply shrugged her shoulders and focused on my shoes.

"Look. You can't just say 'we need to talk' and then avoid me afterwards." I regretted the words as soon as I said them. I didn't mean to snap at her, I'm just a little pissed. I was just a little disconcerted.

"…"

"What?"

"Sorry."

"Look I didn't mean it like that. I guess I was just nervous or something." I rubbed the back of my neck in embarrassment.

She smiled slightly. "I make Kendall Knight nervous?"

"Ah you know what I meant."

She nodded. "Still."

Someone coughed behind us. We turned to see Camille standing there with her arms folded and death in her eyes. "Is he bothering you?"

Jo chuckled. "No." She glanced back at me. "Just a misunderstanding."

Camille turned to me to make sure Jo was being legit. I nodded quickly and smiled nervously.

She turned back to Jo, who gave me a sweet smile. She glanced between the two of us with a devious smirk.

"Yo Kendall! Ready to go?" Logan appeared from the doorway, nodding in the direction of study hall. He stopped and surveyed the situation for a moment. "What are you doing?"

Camille must've thought I needed a translator because after I told him nothing, she said, "He's flirting with Jo."

"Camiiiiiille!" Jo whined, her cheeks reddening.

She just shrugged in response and faced Logan. "I'm Camille Roberts. I'm in your geometry and choir classes!" She said rather brusquely.

Poor Logan just nodded awkwardly and replied with a meek "Hi". He then faced me and asked if I was coming or if he should meet in study hall.

"You know what, why don't you take Camille with you and meet us there." I smiled and ushered Camille to follow a reluctant Logan down the hall.

Camille's smile stretched across her face and she ran to catch up with Logan, whose figure was beginning to disappear in the crowd of students. I chuckled as she fought through the masses to make her way to Logan's side. I glanced back at Jo, who wore a similar expression of amusement on her face.

"Ready?"

She nodded.

"No Jett today?" I know it's a touchy subject, but she appeared to be in higher spirits today. So naturally, I connected that with the lack of Jett in school today.

She hesitated before answering. "He has um something going on today."

"And his parents let him take off from school for this something?"

We wove our way through the packed hallways and descended the stairs. Logan and Camille were already chatting when we walked in. We sat down near them and continued our conversation.

"He lives with his grandmother. Both his parents were killed in a car crash a few years ago." She eyed me, but continued. "He pretty much governs himself. So if he wants to take off from school to hang out with the…"

"With…?" I inquired.

"Oh, I can't come over today for the tutor session." She averted her eyes towards her desk and traced a pattern of a heart on the desk with her thumb.

I eyed her suspiciously but didn't push her to finish her previous thought. "Why not?"

"Jett wants to hang out after school before hockey practice. Plus, I didn't talk to him about the tutoring." She said to the desk.

I exhaled loudly and sat back in my chair. "What-what if I came to your house and tutored you there?"

"I don't think Jett would like that…"

"What about your parents? I'm really good with parents. They're the ones you should be worried about, not Jett."

"Both my parents are doctors at the ICU and they're never really home. They love Jett and think he can help me if I need it. So he's almost like my guardian; whatever he says goes."

"Really?" She nodded. "Well, what time is Jett coming over?"

She muttered something under her breath and unzipped her backpack to retrieve her unfinished History homework. "He said he'd be over at like 5."

"That's great!" I beamed. "I'll just go home with you and I'll tutor you right up. I'll be gone by 4:30. No problem."

She just shrugged and wrote something in her notebook. I cautiously reached my hand over to touch her shoulder. She flinched at my touch. Again? Really?

"Jo. What's wrong?" Concern dripped from my voice.

She set her pencil down and turned to face me. She peeked out from underneath her lashes at me. I couldn't read her expression, but my best guess was she was trying to figure out if I could be trusted.

She finally sighed and said, "Look. Jett isn't really…uh fond of you. He told me not to hang out with you. So if he saw you there with-with me…"

"…he might think something's up." I answered for her.

She nodded. "He'd also get mad and start hi- um he'd start asking questions." She nervously tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.

"Jo. Trust me. I won't get you in trouble. I promise." I said, pleading with her as she ignored me.

_RIIIIIIIIIINNG!_

"Silence! You know the rules. If I catch you with a cell phone out, I'll confiscate it as well as read the message you either sent or received. Now do something productive with yourselves and BE. QUIET!" Mrs. Lannon, an elderly short woman, hissed at us while squinting behind a pair of thin-rimmed glasses.

"Jo, just-"

"MR. KNIGHT! Please make a conscience effort to work on schoolwork and stop flirting with Ms. Taylor." I covered my burning face and slumped back to face my desk in defeat and crossed my arms. There wasn't any point in arguing. Tried that once. Detention.

I glanced over at Jo, who was furiously writing. Damn. The uneasiness of the conversation still lingered with me. Why the heck does she have to report to Jett like a sergeant? Apparently he rules her life. I already picked up that she's a little intimidated by him and now I know why. Why the hell would she let him do that? It baffled me. Now to top it off, she's just going to let herself fail biology.

Why should I care? Shut up, mind! I care because…well because…its just that…I JUST DO! I couldn't explain why I felt so protective over her, all I knew was she wasn't happy and I couldn't be satisfied with that. I wanted to make it better. I-

Someone cleared their throat. I looked up and noticed Jo looking back at me with a piece of folded paper in hand. She casually dropped it on my desk and quickly went back to her schoolwork.

The note read: "Just meet me at the flag pole after school. "

**/f/**

**So a semi-good ending right? I wonder how the tutoring will go...? Actually I already know :) Let me know what you thought!**

**LST **


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